200 New Puzzles -- From Fiendish to Super Fiendish
Su Doku, "the crossword without words," comes with a warning: it is seriously addictive. You don't need to be a mathematical genius to solve these puzzles; it is simply a question of logic and a little patience.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - not as fiendish as I had hoped
I like these puzzles, but found that I could complete all of the super-fiendish ones in the back (ok, I screwed a couple of them up). Generally they are nice airplane puzzles, would like to see a whole book of super-fiendish puzzles, though.
Rating: - Awesome book of puzzles
Need a challenge??? This will keep you working for hours. Awesome puzzle book for the master sudoku puzzler. Highly recommend.
Rating: - Required: pencil, eraser, patience
These puzzles are of similar difficulty to the "hard" sudoku that appear in the newspaper on the weekend, perhaps even a little more difficult. Most of the puzzles I've done so far required at least one or two guesses to solve, so be sure to use a pencil for each guess in case it doesn't lead you to the solution. Sudoku is a fun way to pass the time, and I am looking forward to spending lots of time with this collection of puzzles.
Rating: - Fiendish
I look for Sudoku books with three qualities. First, I want puzzles that have only one solution. If I find a book that includes puzzles with more than one solution I discard it. Two, I want books with grids large enough that I can enter candidates in the cells. Third, I want books with challenging puzzles. Many of the descriptions on Amazon omit such info.
I prefer grids that are about 4 ½" x 4 ½". The grids in my newspaper are about 3" x 3" (which is tolerable because not many candidates are needed).
New York Post Su Doku Fiendish (Wayne Gould): The puzzles have only one solution; the grids are about 3 ½" x 3 ½". There are 200 puzzles in this book; 190 "Fiendish," and 10 "Super Fiendish." Gould does not need to make "pencil marks" and assumes the rest of us don't. Hence, small grids for fiendish puzzles.
Rating: - Very Good but Not Totally Fiendish
I have to admit that I do love Wayne Gould's puzzles, which is why I bought this book sight unseen. Being an addict of very difficult sudoku (or "Su Doku", as he calls them), I looked forward to his worst. This is written after solving the first half.
Mr. Gould is of the solving school that thinks marking up the puzzle gets in the way of good solving. He challenges the solver to find his carefully hidden clues, all of which can be found without marking up -- if you have a better memory for numbers than I have. This is great fun, and I appreciate and enjoy the challenge. The downside is that for people who like REALLY hard (grid coloring, logic chains), these puzzles are not fiendishly hard.
I highly recommend this book to those who are trying to learn how to solve very difficult puzzles that can be solved by traditional techniques. It is filled with interesting and varied puzzles, and you will find some much harder than others because they test different solving methods. For an advanced solver, it is certainly much more fun than the average book.
- not as fiendish as I had hoped
- Awesome book of puzzles
